By RAY CARBONE, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Ruling on a case that was first filed in the U.S. District Court here last year, the United States Supreme Court announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s effort to severely restrict birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.
The court’s 6-3 ruling cancelled Trump’s executive order No. 14160, entitled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which was signed the same day he was sworn in as president. The order denied citizenship to anyone born to a woman who was in the country illegally unless the father was a citizen.
It would have impacted every child born after Feb. 19, 2025, and would have had the most significantly impacted families of undocumented immigrants.
Last June, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire filed a legal challenge to Trump’s order, arguing that it was incompatible with the 14th amendment to the Constitution which reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
The amendment, which was passed in 1866, was originally meant to insure that former slaves were recognized as citizens but the Supreme Court has affirmed the right for others several times over its history.
The president’s executive order had been blocked but now the Supreme Court has declared it invalid.
SangYeob Kim, director of the ACLU-NH Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the court ruling “makes it clear that if you are born here, you are a citizen.”
“Our Constitution promises that every baby born here becomes part of our national community, a right that has been in place for more than150 years and which has been upheld once again today by our country’s highest court,” said Devon Chafee, executive director of the ACLU-NH.
“This fight was about preventing the creation of a subclass of people born in this country but denied full rights as Americans, all at the whim of the president.”
“Today is a good day for our Constitution, for families across this country, and for the cornerstone principle that in America, birthright citizenship cannot be stripped away by presidential decree,” agreed U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander.
But Scott Maltzie, chair of the NH Republican Party, said the ruling is incorrect.
“The Supreme Court decision is a missed opportunity to address the growing abuse of birthright citizenship,” he said. “The 14th Amendment was never intended to encourage illegal immigration or birth tourism, rewarding those who come to the United States solely to obtain citizenship for their children.”
Birth tourism, which occurs when foreign nationals travel to another country to give birth so the child receives automatic citizenship, is a rare occurrence in America, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a policy think tank focused on immigration and integration.
The local case, known as Barbara v. Donald J. Trump was originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire on June 27, 2025.
“Barbara” is the pseudonym of a then-pregnant Honduran woman living in New Hampshire with her family. Her case was later tied to several similar ones from around the country.
The national American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU-Maine, ACLU-Massachusetts, the Legal Defense Fund, the Asian Law Caucus, and the Democracy Defenders Fund worked with the ACLU-NH on the litigation, according to a statement issued by the Concord office.
Not much has been made public about “Barbara,” although ACLU-NH said this week that she’s still in New Hampshire and that she gave birth to her daughter several months after the lawsuit was filed.
She’s been in the state since 2024 and has applied for asylum with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Ittai Sopher, an investigative reporter with a television station in San Diego, was able to uncover some additional information. He reported that “Barbara’s” family was fleeing Honduras to escape Mara-18, an allegedly transnational violent criminal gang.
“I am fearful for my child’s future in light of this executive order,” Barbara said in a court declaration. “I want my baby to have access to opportunities, such as access to education and permission to work legally, in order to make a life for themselves. I also want my child to be safe.”
She added that, like other plaintiffs in the case, she chose to remain anonymous out of concerns for her family’s well-being. “I am scared about my identity and participation in this lawsuit being made public, because I fear for my and my family’s safety,” she said.
“I fear that certain individuals would retaliate against us because of my participation in this lawsuit. I have heard about the current administration or supporters retaliating against people who sue or speak out against the administration.”
For his part, Kim said he’s grateful for the immigrants who filed the legal challenge to Trump’s order.
“We thank the brave immigrant parents and their children who brought this lawsuit to the highest court in the land to protect what we have long known,” he said. “No politician, including the president, can decide who is worthy of citizenship. We share in their overwhelming emotions, and relief, in our fight to protect the constitutional rights for all born in our nation.”